I didn't expect the Soul King to react so vehemently to a single remark about being 'scared.'
Of course, calling it 'vehement' only meant that while his outward expression remained unchanged, his attacks were now laced with clear personal intent—but that was quite something in itself.
In a fight, momentum is everything. And 'momentum' here doesn't just refer to the feeling of being strong; it includes composure as well.
Person A, who attacks haphazardly while swept away by emotion. Person B, who calmly parries and counters while mocking the opponent.
Who looks stronger here? Some might gamble on Person A, claiming intense emotion is the source of power and seeking a sudden 'awakening,' but nine out of ten would choose Person B.
"Was your pride wounded that much? Your strikes are wavering."
"Nonsense."
"Is it? Then what the hell was that attack? I dodged it just by tilting my head."
Chuckling, I dodged the Soul King's Reishi blast, kicked off the ground, and lunged toward him with a fist.
My fist tore through the air, creating a sonic boom, but the Soul King teleported behind me a step ahead.
It was remarkably similar to the technique Aizen used during his fight with 'Transcendent' Ichigo, but the Soul King's speed was overwhelmingly superior.
The Soul King was quite literally moving at the speed of light.
"Missed again?"
"It seems your strike went wide again, as well."
I blinked as he threw a counter-provocation right after my taunt.
That was a taunt, right? I never thought I'd live to see the day the Soul King got pissed off enough to talk smack.
Half of me was pleased to see my friend's growth firsthand, while the other half found the way he threw such a clumsy taunt utterly hilarious. I chuckled and loosened my neck.
"Is that the best taunt you've got—"
"Is this the level of the Martial Arts you have forged over a million years?"
"—Come again? You little bastard..."
I can tolerate anything else, but I won't stand for insults toward the path I've walked or the people I've chosen.
I adjusted my stance, extending my left fist and lunging forward, shifting my center of gravity.
I relaxed my body, concentrated power in my toes, and launched myself like an arrow.
Sliding into range, I drove a lunge punch toward the Soul King's abdomen.
But that was a feint.
The moment I saw the Soul King's body glow blue, I slammed my foot into the ground to arrest my forward momentum and unleashed a back-kick.
BOOM—!!
With a sound like a cannon exploding, the Soul King was sent flying.
Moments later, shrouded in blue light, the Soul King returned with a clear footprint etched into the center of his stomach.
"It seems my provocation was ineffective."
So it really was a taunt.
I chuckled at the Soul King's flat tone and shook my head.
"That's because it wasn't something to get angry about. In the end, all martial arts lead to one: the essence is simply to strike, kick, and crush. You use it when you need to, and that's it."
"To understand it with the mind and to practice it are two different things. It is difficult."
"I've spent eons managing Hell and dealing with all sorts of absolute pricks. A taunt of that level isn't going to work on me."
"I suppose that is true."
I chuckled at his nonchalant nod, shrugged, and threw a light punch toward the Soul King.
CRASH!! The very world surrounding the Soul King shuddered.
"So quit with the useless chatter and bring it."
"Did you not start the provocations first?"
"I said stop with the chatter!"
After that, the battle resumed just as before.
Uprooting the earth, crushing the heavens to make them collapse, shattering each other's worlds, and testing each other's resolve.
"Your patterns are too simple!!"
"Is all you can do not merely throw your fists?"
Despite the fact that we were throwing attacks designed to kill each other, our banter was childishly petty.
But I liked that. It meant we were fighting with our whole hearts.
As the fight dragged on, the Hell I had created was devastated beyond recognition, turning into a wasteland where nothing remained.
It was becoming a desert of sand and stone, much like what I had seen over a million years ago.
The only difference was that now it was filled with lava and the miasma of Hell; in that sense, this was actually worse.
Lunging with fists, firing Reishi blasts, detonating nuclear-scale forces within our palms, and shattering the world with kicks.
Though I speak of it calmly, the epicenter where the Soul King and I clashed was distorted as if the very program of reality had suffered a critical bug.
Even after fighting to this extent, the battle remained undecided.
Naturally so. Since we were both beings who could create and destroy worlds, victory would not come easily.
It felt just like a million years ago. We had fought for a hundred years without ever reaching a conclusion.
But it's different now. We both possess the means to kill one another. Both he and I.
"..."
"Sigh... which bout is this? The 9,126th? It's been a million years, so my memory is getting a bit fuzzy."
"This is our 9,127th battle."
"A bit of an awkward number, but I guess it's about time we settle this. For the sake of the world."
There was no verbal response.
Instead, a terrifying amount of lightning and Spirit Particles began to coalesce around the Soul King.
From the sheer torrent of power he was scraping from the depths of his being, the Soul King's hair turned snow-white, and his topknot came undone, his hair flowing wildly.
And his six pure white wings became a single pair of pale violet wings imbued with lightning.
No, due to the torrent of power being sucked into him, it looked as though dozens of wings were overlapping simultaneously.
Before long, lightning that tore through the heavens of Hell began to cluster above the Soul King's head, eventually radiating an immense light that illuminated all of Hell.
Another sun, composed entirely of lightning, had risen over the earth.
If I took that hit head-on, even I wouldn't come out unscathed.
"Heh. The brat's going out in style."
Let's see who wins this, then.
Baring my teeth in a grin, I clenched my fist until the veins on the back of my hand bulged, preparing my final strike.
This is it—the final act of our struggle.
There was no clear signal.
Just a momentary lull when the blowing wind fell silent.
"ब्रह्मास्त्र"
With the Soul King's murmur, the sun of lightning floating above his head exploded.
And just as it was a million years ago.
――――!!!!
There was light.
*
The smell of burning.
I smell something scorched.
The sickening, nauseating stench of burning flesh.
It was a foul smell I had encountered more than enough during my time cultivating Hell.
I took a deep breath, and that repulsive scent filled my lungs.
Only after a few agonizing breaths did I realize the stench was coming from me.
"K-kkrgh..."
As I exhaled with great difficulty, black smoke and dead blood welled up through my throat.
Had I ever sustained a wound this deep in my life? No, never once.
It was a sensation of agonizing pain and impending death that I hadn't felt in a very long time.
With every breath, the path toward death became clearer.
I felt a familiar presence approaching and opened my eyes.
But my scorched retinas reflected nothing.
Still, I could feel it.
The man who had reduced me to this state was right in front of me.
"Why did you not counter?"
"Heh... hehehe..."
His voice was tinged with a hint of sorrow. I gave a weak chuckle, coughing up blood, which actually cleared my windpipe a little.
There was much I wanted to say, but in this situation, my capacity for words was limited. So I returned the same words he had once used.
"It was... necessary..."
The moment the words left my lips, a streak of 'Black'—crawling out from the Hell of Black Darkness—was fired aimed directly at me.
I couldn't see it, but I felt it.
In the past, I could have brushed off such a strike with ease... but...
In this body, broken after taking the full brunt of the Soul King's power, I could not withstand it.
CRACK!
The black strike pierced through my carbonized body, straight through my heart.
Death. The destination of all life had finally arrived after a million years of patient endurance.
"At last... I have finally succeeded!!"
I forced my stiff neck to turn toward the source.
I still couldn't see, but I felt it.
The Black that had put an end to my life was right there.
The foolish man who had spent ages sharpening his blade for revenge stood there.
"I have waited for this moment above all else! Dreaming of the day I would kill you and return to the Heavens!!"
"...Is that you, Manako?"
"O Great Soul King, it is time for you to return to your throne. With the 'Black' overflowing in this Hell, I shall return you to your original place—"
"Heh... heh..."
I laughed, finding his premature joy at returning to the Heavens quite comical. Ichibe Hyosube fell silent.
When the Monk spoke again, his voice carried a faint, smoldering rage.
"What do you find so funny? Have you gone mad at the realization of your impending death?"
"What do you think the death of a human is? A destination? An ending? An endless void?"
A human's death is the ultimate extreme of possibility, yet the termination of all possibilities.
A unique full stop that no one and nothing can replace.
It is an established fact, a truth that can never be avoided.
That is why humans fear death and seek to flee from it.
But no matter where they run, the place a human ultimately heads is toward death.
That is the death of a 'human.'
"What are you talking about?"
"Indeed... I told you to study some philosophy."
Me, as a human, ends through death.
But me, as a God, is completed through death.
In that instant, the flames burning behind me connected into a single circle, completing a brilliantly blazing halo.